U.S., Robertson County agree on jail fixes to aid mentally ill

County had been dogged by complaints of civil rights abuses of mentally ill prisoners

5:13 AM,
Apr. 27, 2013

Written by

Brian Haas
| The Tennessean

The U.S. Department of Justice and Robertson County officials on Friday agreed in federal court to a series of fixes to ensure the civil rights of mentally ill jail inmates are no longer violated.

According to the court filing, the problems stretch back to 2009, when federal investigators found unqualified employees, dangerous policies and a pattern of "egregious and flagrant conditions of confinement which deprive (inmates) of rights, privileges and immunities secured and protected under the Constitution of the United States causing such prisoners to suffer grievous harm."